Migration staff 'played solitaire rather than hunt for foreigners taking part in sham marriages'

Immigration officials played solitaire on their computers instead of hunting for foreigners taking part in sham marriages, a tribunal heard yesterday.

In the end one investigator refused to ‘turn a blind eye’ and was sacked, it was alleged.

Neville Sprague said it had become clear that there was a major criminal conspiracy in which foreign nationals applied for ‘spouse’ visas that enabled them to stay in Britain and enjoy benefits and free services.

It had ‘far reaching consequences’ for the immigration situation, but when he tried to encourage his bosses to act they showed little interest.

Mr Sprague, 59, a former chief immigration officer, told the employment tribunal: ‘I was singled out because of my reluctance to ignore serious organised criminal activities in relation to bogus sham marriages.

‘I wanted action taken, but the department wanted to brush the scandal under the carpet and wanted me out of the way.

‘Some members of the unit found it difficult to do any real motivated work. Some were quite happy to sit on their computers playing solitaire and similar games rather than working.’

Uninterested: The tribunal in Croydon heard that the head of BCCT Jill Smith showed little interest sham marriages scam

Mr Sprague joined the Home Office in 2001 after 25 years as a uniformed officer and detective with the Metropolitan Police. He earned £26,000 a year working for the Border Control Crime Team, now known as National Tactical Operations.

Things began to go wrong after Jill Smith, the head of the BCCT, twice promoted investigator Tony Buswell in a short time.